Pokka Purin Shake

You don't see much in the way of "shakes" in markets in Japan. I guess that they don't go for thick, fatty, sweet drinks the way imprudent Americans do. Being an imprudent American who hasn't seen a "shake" beverage in a shop for a very long time, I pounced on this drink when I saw it at Peacock supermarket. It was a little expensive, about 170 yen ($1.90) for 100 grams (3.5 oz.), but visions of thick, creamy shake goodness loosened up my change purse.

This beverage is made by Pokka, which apparently has been making very popular purin-based beverages since 1991. I don't know where they are sold, but I'm guessing they are mainly dispensed in vending machines since I rarely come across them. This purin is different from their usual variety in that a master chef who has a patisserie supposedly designed it. It's marketed under the label "Furano Delice."


When I poured this into a glass, I noticed that it looked a bit clumpy and was not thick in a uniform way. A sniff revealed a sour dairy smell which is reminiscent of powdered milk and non-dairy creamer plus a slight caramel smell. Taking a sip, I was reminded of tapioca to some extent. The texture is slimy and strange, as if someone pureed days old purin and mixed it with milk but it didn't mix evenly or completely. The basic flavor is like old milk though it has a good sweetness level. There's a bit of an aftertaste which is a good approximation of the caramelized flavor of the sauce in purin.

This was 86 calories that was totally wasted because this was really gross. I can't believe that anyone would enjoy this unless they liked milk that had sat in the refrigerator for quite some time and had clumped up a bit with age. If I were a master pastry chef, I'd be embarrassed to have my name attached to this.